From the Cockpit with Maersk’s Corfitsen

Denmark-based shipping and logistics group A.P. Moller-Maersk announced earlier this year the launch of Maersk Air Cargo, its new airline taking over from its previous in-house operator Star Air. The carrier, which had only flown its 767s in Europe on behalf of the express integrators, announced the purchase of two new 777Fs in 2021 and this year also bought three new production 767-300Fs. The first of those 767s recently started flying between Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) and Seoul (ICN), operated on a CMI basis by Amerijet. [caption id="attachment_56860448" align="alignright" width="450"] Maersk Air Cargo CEO Peter Corfitsen. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] Cargo Facts sat down with Maersk Air Cargo Chief Executive Peter Corfitsen for a fireside chat at Cargo Facts Symposium 2022 in San Diego to discuss these developments. What follows is an edited version of the conversation. Cargo Facts : Coming from thirty-plus years of shipping experience, can you tell us about your transition into the airfreight side last year? Peter Corfitsen: Moving into aviation was a paradigm shift. I was obviously very excited about the opportunity and knew it was not to be missed, because it was an opportunity to be part of a journey where we have the customer at the forefront of everything we do. Star Air, as it was previously known, started off in 1987 as an ACMI operator, and we’ve been blessed with very good customer relationships in the express industry. What really surprised me was the level of reliability. The customers trust us and ask us for 99% reliability. Today we deliver 99.2%. Comparing this with the container shipping side, in a good year before the pandemic, Maersk had a reliability of 85%. CF : What was the rationale behind the transition from Star Air to Maersk Air Cargo? PC: It’s all about the customer. Our customers were telling us that they would like to see an air product being developed as part of our suite of integrated logistics products. Star Air, with a focus on being an ACMI operator, was a good starting point, but being an ACMI operator does not make you a global air carrier or integrator. So, to help with that transition and transformation, we needed to restructure the organization to be able to stay focused on the intra-European express customers but also allow us to branch out to long-haul and intercontinental operations. We transferred the air operator certificate (AOC) of Star Air to Maersk Air Cargo and were given regulatory approval in June. The Danish authorities were extremely helpful in making this happen, and we were granted temporary dual AOCs for three months. They saw good employment opportunities if we were successful in transforming the company. By branding ourselves as Maersk Air Cargo we’re building on the accomplishments of the past and adding our future aspirations. We’re still focusing on our valuable ACMI customers but now we can think of ourselves as a startup. We’re being humble about that, but it allows us now to spread our wings a little bit further than the intra-European market. CF : Why did Maersk decide to buy three new 767-300Fs earlier this year? PC: With the pandemic and all the constraints, being able to gain access to some more capacity within a very short timeframe was an opportunity that Maersk decided to pursue. The 767 is an aircraft that is very familiar to us and an aircraft that we’re very happy with. It may not be the newest design, but it is still a workhorse and does serve a purpose, so when the opportunity came, we jumped on it. It is also a bit of a steppingstone to the global aspect and the transition to the 777F operation. These new 767s allow us to enter the U.S.-Asia market, and we’re very appreciative of Amerijet for operating those aircraft for us. In due course they may also be good candidates to replace some of our older, converted 767s in Europe. CF : What’s the plan for the two new 777Fs? PC: We have not finalized any routes yet. The aim is to deploy them on some trunk lanes and potentially support other ocean carriers’ volumes, with different customers having different transit time needs. We haven’t made any conclusions yet, but we hope to support a range of customers who are asking for own-controlled capacity. CF : How much of a global carrier does Maersk Air Cargo aspire to be? PC: Our customers are asking us to provide own-controlled capacity and to help integrate their logistics needs. This could mean combining airfreight, ocean freight, warehousing and distribution into one offering. It has to be based on the customers’ demands. When we say global it’s because we do have an expectation that customers see us as a global operator. We have this firm belief that our strategy of integrating the whole supply chain is something that is of benefit to the customers. Other shipping companies may be seeing something of a similar nature. Of course, in any demand and supply situation there will be cycles in this industry, but I think there’s space for all types of activities. If you look at airfreight in isolation, we can combine it with products that have not been seen before. Take the concept of air-sea: We can combine the first leg on ocean with a shorter-range air product. That of course depends on the customer requirement and the transit time, but you can do much more bulk volume with shipping and then take the more time-sensitive components on air. Maybe we can create some solutions that can coexist with the traditional air cargo industry. I think it’s also important to note that while we aspire to be a global player, we’re not going to do this alone — and we’re not aspiring to be the world’s biggest cargo airline. This Q&A originally appeared in the November 2022 issue of Cargo Facts.

From the Cockpit with Maersk’s Corfitsen

Tata merges Air India with Singapore Airlines’ local venture

AAPA: Manufacturing slowdowns in Asia impact volumes

Related Posts

From the Cockpit with K2 Aviation’s Karl Ryan

Production freighter activity highlights May FATs

Widebodies account for more than half of April’s transactions

AAPA: Manufacturing slowdowns in Asia impact volumes

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password